Okay, all my detailed frustration about not being able to start my '73 Riv Boattail with a stage1 sitting out in the cold has just evanesced. IT runs just beautifully; I just couldn't ask for better engine response, idle quality, off-idle performance, mid-throttle acceleration, etc.
NO, it was not the ignition, not the large spark plug gap, not the alleged poor quality of the ACCEL name brand products.
In my '73 Buick Service manual, it stated it so simply: "Driver habits" as the #1 possibility for cold-starting problems.
The correct way to start an early emissions-era, leaner-than- Nichole- Itchy Quadrajet has just a few very simple steps, even an idiot like me can follow:
1. Crank the engine for 3 sec's (without switching on the ignition--I have a separate completely new ignition system with it's own 10 gauge wire fused from the battery to a toggle switch inside on the dash to the "+" coil, where the electronic distrib also gets its 12V).
2. Stop cranking, and slowly depress the accelerator pedal to the floor to set the fast-idle cam.
3. lightly pump the accelerator 3x
4. Now, Crank the starter/solenoid without touching the accelerator, and flip the ignition switch on.
Bammmmmoo! BrrRRMMMMM!!!!!!SUCCESS!!! IGNITION!!! Engine runs so smooth, I didn't realize it was running (even when looking at it) except for the loud exhaust noise.I did have to set the fast idle screw, which--- correct me if I'm wrong, opens the primary throttle plate. It idles so smoothly, there no vibration, the moving fan actually looking like it's dead still.
When I called TA Performance about their carb rebuilding (~$350), I asked the tech about my long story. he said that if my ignition system was working so well in even colder temperatures, it must be the carb. he claimed that most of the early 800cfm Quadrajets for the Big Buick monster engines were basically the same structurally, but got leaner and leaner with each new stringent BIG GOVERNMENT emission requirements they imposed on the US auto industry. He even said it is not that unusual for a Quadrajet to not run right sitting outside in a CA evening, let alone in sub-zero temperatures. I can attest to that because my '76, which I kept stored in an indoor storage facility in La Quinta (Palm Springs), had the same problem starting from a "cold" (like 120 ambient degrees...)state. I guess the old man who was the original owner got all these new parts for the choke rod, the thermostatic coil, etc. They were never quite adjusted right. Later I fixed that thing so it runs like a top.
But the '73--I am in a manic -euphoric state getting that to run so well. :bana: :shifter: :car: :bana:
NO, it was not the ignition, not the large spark plug gap, not the alleged poor quality of the ACCEL name brand products.
In my '73 Buick Service manual, it stated it so simply: "Driver habits" as the #1 possibility for cold-starting problems.
The correct way to start an early emissions-era, leaner-than- Nichole- Itchy Quadrajet has just a few very simple steps, even an idiot like me can follow:
1. Crank the engine for 3 sec's (without switching on the ignition--I have a separate completely new ignition system with it's own 10 gauge wire fused from the battery to a toggle switch inside on the dash to the "+" coil, where the electronic distrib also gets its 12V).
2. Stop cranking, and slowly depress the accelerator pedal to the floor to set the fast-idle cam.
3. lightly pump the accelerator 3x
4. Now, Crank the starter/solenoid without touching the accelerator, and flip the ignition switch on.
Bammmmmoo! BrrRRMMMMM!!!!!!SUCCESS!!! IGNITION!!! Engine runs so smooth, I didn't realize it was running (even when looking at it) except for the loud exhaust noise.I did have to set the fast idle screw, which--- correct me if I'm wrong, opens the primary throttle plate. It idles so smoothly, there no vibration, the moving fan actually looking like it's dead still.
When I called TA Performance about their carb rebuilding (~$350), I asked the tech about my long story. he said that if my ignition system was working so well in even colder temperatures, it must be the carb. he claimed that most of the early 800cfm Quadrajets for the Big Buick monster engines were basically the same structurally, but got leaner and leaner with each new stringent BIG GOVERNMENT emission requirements they imposed on the US auto industry. He even said it is not that unusual for a Quadrajet to not run right sitting outside in a CA evening, let alone in sub-zero temperatures. I can attest to that because my '76, which I kept stored in an indoor storage facility in La Quinta (Palm Springs), had the same problem starting from a "cold" (like 120 ambient degrees...)state. I guess the old man who was the original owner got all these new parts for the choke rod, the thermostatic coil, etc. They were never quite adjusted right. Later I fixed that thing so it runs like a top.
But the '73--I am in a manic -euphoric state getting that to run so well. :bana: :shifter: :car: :bana: